Akihiro Okama was one of Japan's finest glass artists, especially well-known for his intricate beads early on, and later for his spectacular marbles. We tragically lost Aki to an avalanche on January 30,2023 while Aki was doing some back country skiing in Japan. It was an immensely sad day for the global glass art community, as Aki's life and light and glass knowledge had touched sooo many artists and collectors around the world. Aki was a special friend of mine since my early days of collecting marbles back in 2004, and I will never forget the joy, laughter, smiles and beauty he brought to my life. I will miss him so much, but his glass art lives on, shining so brightly!

Aki sometimes used Japanese satake glass to make his marbles, a very soft glass with a low melting point and a COE of 120, as satake was Aki's main focus in the earlier years of his glass career. These marbles have a strangely heavy feel to them (much heavier than boro, which is a much stiffer glass with higher melting temp) because of how much lead is in the glass (similar to leaded crystal). They are a true joy to hold and behold. He also became a master with borosilicate glass as well, as you will see from the boro marbles in this gallery. He even made paerpweight style soft glass marbles (and paperweights) as well. He was a master of all things glass and was just flat out BRILLIANT at everything he did!

Please click on a gallery to see more images of each marble and to purchase available marbles. I ship worldwide.